


Love, Confusion and Stomach Aches

by Desintas



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 07:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4738607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desintas/pseuds/Desintas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suga has made presents for everyone in the team but when several coincidences clash together, including a personal delivery mix-up, things get complicated between two volleyball dorks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Setup

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fanfic that I posted on FF.net. I've decided to post it up here too :)   
> I'd like to acknowledge my bud Kaiado for beta-ing.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Haikyuu! nor the characters.  
> Reviews are appreciated! Thanks for reading!

'You got a head start dumbass!' Kageyama yelled as he chased Hinata. They thundered up the coil of stairs, raising a ruckus.

Then Hinata made his fatal mistake.

He tripped and sprawled unceremoniously, emitting a 'Bluergh!' as he landed. Kageyama, still in the single minded thought of pursuit, tripped on Hinata and fell – luckily for Hinata,  _next_  to him rather than on top.

'Owww!' Hinata yelped as the setter's arm smacked into his face.

'Nice going dumbass,' groaned his dark haired friend. 'Falling up the stairs.'

'That's your fault for not looking!'

'You're just too small to be seen,'

'I can jump!' Hinata countered uselessly and automatically. Kageyama stared at his team member for a moment.

'Yeah, if you could, why didn't you  _jump_  to the side or something?'

'Because…'

Their bickering continued as they slowly picked themselves up and began to climb the stairs once more. Something soft landed on Hinata's head and bounced down the stairs'

'Wha-?' Hinata chased after it. Kageyama frowned slightly, uncomprehending the fuss. 'Whoa! It's so cute!' Hinata exclaimed, as he held up a little chibi crow plush and bounded up the stairs to show his teammate. 'Don't you think it looks like me?' he asked, eyes wide and mouth smiling. 'Look! It has orange hair too!' He started dancing around Kageyama, lifting the toy and spinning around. 'Uwaaaah! It must be a gift from the heavens! It must be fate!' Kageyama grabbed a handful of orange hair to stop his dancing.

'Hinata?' a voice came from above them. Hinata gasped.

'It's a sign!' he yelled and held up the plush like an offering.

'Suga-san?' They saw a grey haired figure leaning over the railings and waving from above them.

'Sorry about that! Could you bring it up?'

'Sure!' Hinata yelled, beaming and tore up the stairs, with Kageyama following rather tiredly.

'What's it for Suga-san?' Hinata asked he handed back the little plush toy to his senpai. Sugawara chuckled.

'It's going to be a surprise for the team. This will be yours,' he said, slipping it into his bag and Hinata caught glimpses of numerous other round toy birds nesting inside.

'Ooohh!' Hinata's eyes sparkled.

'Keep this a secret okay?' Suga put a finger to his lips and winked. 'You two should be getting to class. See you at practice!'

'Bye Suga-san!' said Hinata, waving enthusiastically.

 

Contrary to what Sugawara warned them not to do, Hinata chatted away the whole day about the adorable little Hinata crow. He was only silenced by Kageyama's glares and the occasional cheek squish to physically silence him. Was he really that excited about a little toy? Maybe he was just especially excited because it was a Hinata crow? Kageyama whipped Hinata in the face with a towel when he saw Hinata's sparkling eyes and the inhalation to blurt out the secret during volleyball breaks. Even though Kageyama was extremely vigilant against Hinata's motor mouth, he could tell the constant shut-offs were going to arouse suspicion soon.  
And it was only the first day.

'Kageyama! Don't you think it was cu-'

Whack!

Hinata was driving him mad.  
And not in a good way. Has it ever been?

 

Even after their races, when both of them were rendered breathless, Hinata would still have the sparkling eyes and the stupidly permanent smile. Kageyama knew eventually, there would be a time where his hands, glare or towel would not be in time to stop Hinata from spilling the beans. He had to do something.

'Suga-san,' began Kageyama stoically at the end of volleyball practice. 'About the toy from yesterday,' he looked up to see Suga nodding in understanding. 'Hinata,' he exhaled, 'won't shut up about it and he's going to ruin your surprise,'

'There's no need to worry Kageyama, because I'm giving them out tomorrow anyways,' Suga smiled at Kageyama's relief. 'But if you want you can give it to Hinata now. I just added the finishing touches today,' He rummaged through his bag and placed a paper bag in Kageyama's hands.

'Thanks Suga-san!' he bowed and exited almost explosively, thundering after Hinata.

'Ah-' a realisation hit Suga. He forgot to mention one more thing.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.


	2. The Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was posted on Valentine's Day XD

But they're not going to notice right? Suga thought nervously and rather guiltily. He tried to reassure himself. They're much too into volleyball anyways. Right?

'Something wrong Suga?' Daichi asked. 'You look worried.'

'I'm fine,' Suga smiled. They won't notice he reminded himself.  
Probably.

'Hinataaaa!' Kageyama sprinted at full speed and grabbed his friend's shirt.

'You're cheating Bakageyama!' Hinata yelled, trying to elbow Kageyama's hands off his back while wobbling dangerously on his bike.

'Your stupid little bird,' Kageyama growled, dangling the paper bag in front of Hinata's face. He gasped and his face lit up with excitement. 'On one condition!' Kageyama snatched it back and his orange haired friend pouted, 'You have to not tell anyone about this bird okay because Suga-san doing his surprise tomorrow,'

'I'm… getting it early?' Hinata yelled happily.

'Uhm… yeah! B-because you're … uh special!' Kageyama bluffed, hardly believing he was saying something like this.

'Give me the bird!' Hinata snatched at the air but his wish was denied as his friend scooted backwards.

'C'mooooon!' whined Hinata.

'Promise?'

'Ok ok ok!' Kageyama tossed the bag into Hinata's waiting hands.

'See you tomorrow dumbass,'

'Bye!'

They went their separate ways.

'Oni-chan! Who gave you the present?' Natsu asked, eyes wide.

'A friend!' Hinata beamed as he began unravelling the folded top.

'Ooohh!' his little sister giggled. 'A  _girl_ friend?'

'What? No!' Hinata denied, head snapping up from his unwrapping.

'But doesn't oni-chan know?' his little sister chirped as she spun in a circle, arms spread like an airplane. 'Tomorrow is Va-len-tine's Day!' She beamed at herself, as if proud of remembering.

'Don't be silly Natsu! I got this today!' Hinata tried to wave the idea off when he remembered:

' _I'm… getting it early?'  
'Uhm… yeah! B-because you're … uh special!'_

Hinata gasped. Wait a second… Kageyama…lik- no! No! He shook his head, trying to clear his heated face. He looked down into the open bag and nearly fainted.  
It was a little Kageyama crow.

Sugawara hummed as he sorted his little plush toys into bags. He reached for a bird with an orange puff of-  
Oh.  
 _Oh._

C-c-calm down! Suga thought wildly as he scrambled to search for a bird with a mean expression. Ah damn! Was it here? No? Here? How about his bag? He couldn't find it! Uh… hopefully Hinata won't put two and two together? He thought weakly, heaving and emotionally exhausted. But he has a little sister right? Hopefully she would too young to know or care? But little ones always have wild ideas and that just might set Hinata off. Sugawara sighed.

Hinata rolled over for the hundredth time and sighed, face still flushed and the Kageyama crow standing guard near his head. Kageyama  _liked_ me? As in… more than a friend? A confession. He buried his face in his hands. How would he answer tomorrow? And… and… Hinata fell into a daze, short-circuiting from the endless revolve of thinking.

Hinata pushed his bike slowly as he approached the school and still caught in his storm of flustering thoughts, failed to notice a dust cloud that was rapidly making its way towards him. He barely flinched as a blur of school uniform and black hair barrelled past him and continued half-heartedly pushing his bike.

'Hey dumbass what are you doing? Are you sick?' Kageyama asked, his usual scowl on his face. Hinata stiffened but kept his head turned away and set about locking his bike. 'Are you nervous? But we're not even playing a match today,' Kageyama said, frown deepening in impatience by Hinata's silence.

'Uh… nothing,' Hinata murmured quietly, still not facing Kageyama. Kageyama glared at him, still bothered by his lack of usual enthusiasm.

'Remember what Asahi-san told you to help stop being scared?' Kageyama said as he walked past his friend, leaving for the gymnasium. 'You should use it.' The silence that followed was rapidly ballooning between them after his receding footsteps faded into the distance.

'I-I just… can't,' Hinata whispered, unheard by the distant Kageyama. He buried his face into his hands and kneeled on the floor, watery orbs spilling over. It would look like his quirky movements and no one would realise he was crying.

Suga noticed what was wrong immediately. He was expecting it, after all and after a restless night's sleep, he was almost desperate to know if his mistakes had led to -

Oh.

There was Hinata, tears spilling past his hands and trailing down to his chin. Suga hurried over to him and comforted the mess of a teenager.

'It's ok Hinata, because this…' Suga trailed off, looking at Hinata's giant watery orbs and feeling the guilt pile on his shoulders, 'I'm really sorry but this-'

'Suga-san?' He whipped his head around. Speak of the devil. Suga nervously cleared his throat before answering.

'Yes Kageyama?'

'What's wrong with the shrimp?' he asked bluntly, irritation radiating off him.

'U-uhm…' Suga glanced at Hinata, who was, to his surprise was standing up and approaching Kageyama.

'Kageyama…' Hinata began, voice still weak from the breakdown, 'You know what you gave me yesterday?'

'Yeah. What's wrong with it?'

'Look! It's …you,' Hinata held out the plush on his palm. Kageyama deadpanned. Suga knew he wasn't doing it intentionally but rather a signal for his slow processing.

'That means there was a mix up right? Why are you so upset?' Kageyama unconsciously pouted, mouth slouching in confusion. Hinata exploded, unable to hold the emotions back.

'Because! Stupid Kageyama!' he yelled as he shoved the toy into Kageyama's chest, who fumbled with it before holding it securely. 'Because it's Valentine's Day! Obviously you meant that as a joke didn't you!' Tears welled up in his eyes and he sped off, leaving a stunned Kageyama and a worried Sugawara behind. Suga sighed, watching the chaos of teenage drama unfold.  
'Kageyama,'  
'Suga-san,' Kageyama said, 'How-'  
'I'll explain, and then you can go find Hinata,' Sugawara said, holding up a hand, 'And I'm really sorry for the trouble I caused.'

'Oi Hinata,' Kageyama found his teammate behind the gymnasium, huddled and stiff. 'I came to tell you to stop moping about this because-' Hinata looked up and Kageyama faltered. He always thought crying was something an annoying little brat did when they wanted something and so when he saw Hinata bawling his eyes out, Kageyama felt his patience snap. First, Hinata was always there for morning practice, if not even earlier than normal just to spike Kageyama's toss. Second, Hinata wouldn't have a reason to cry before training. It was just training. Heck, it wasn't even a game. What reason did Hinata have to cry his eyes out in the morning? Speaking of eyes- had he ever realised how soft his eyes were? How childlike, big and brown with a hint of amber. It reminded Kageyama of honey. Not to mention his slightly red cheeks and nose. It made him look adora-  
What the? Since when did he start romanticising about Hinata's face? Sure he could be considered cute and it was just because he was small.  
What is wrong with me? Kageyama scowled but not quite his usual killer intent. His eyes flitted away from his teammate. He felt a hot prickly feeling slowly wash on his cheeks. Am I coming down with a cold? He swallowed and felt his lips wobble. Kageyama huffed a sigh as he turned away from a rather puzzled Hinata and leaned against the wall, feeling his forehead. How come he felt hot and prickly? 'Well Hinata, I came to tell you to stop moping because-'

'Hm?' Hinata said, voice rather close and startled, the setter whipped around and came face to face with his partner who was rather flushed too. Did Hinata spread his cold around to me? Kageyama thought, zeroing in on the orange head. He glanced at his facial features, pushing away at embarrassing thoughts. Red nose, cheeks. Eyes large and wet. Eyebrows furrowed up. Screwed up mouth. He looked down further. Crumpled shirt. Slender arms and clenched fists. Further do-  
Back the heck away Kageyama thought, averting his gaze once more.

'Look dumbass,' he said succinctly, 'this whole bird Valentine's Day thing is a mistake.'

'… What?' Hinata whispered as he stared at the floor.

'You heard me. This whole thing is a mistake. It was a mix-up because Suga-san switched your bird with mine by an accident. He did mean to give it to us and the team today as a sign of friendship.'

'Ohh,' said Hinata quietly and then he suddenly looked up and smiled, 'Really? I was really worried there because I thought you confessed to me!' He laughed.

'Yeah I didn't dumbass,' Kageyama said, 'because who in world would fall in love with you?'

'Shut up Kageyama! I'll beat you to training! Today will be my win!'

'Like hell, dumbass!'

Even as they raced away, feeling the overlay of stress and hurt peel away, they both couldn't deny the feelings that lay underneath. They were both baffled at their inner feelings of …

Disappointment.


	3. Queasy

Sugawara had sharp perception when it came to reading people's expressions and judging the mood they were in. He could also tell when they were hiding something, even a slight injury like a cut on the thumb. So when Hinata and Kageyama stormed in yelling at each other, uneasiness twisted his gut. He frowned. He had faith in Kageyama to get his point across, even if his method was a little blunt but Hinata needed to know it was a mistake and not believe in a fake confession. That was out in the clear now at least. But wasn't Hinata's laugh a little too forced and Kageyama's usual glare lacking its killer intent when he looked at Hinata? Did they hold their stares off for a little too long? Were their faces red from exertion or their feelings? Suga scratched his cheek as he wondered about the troublesome pair.

 

It seemed the 'stomach bug' that affected Suga affected Hinata and Kageyama too. The pair would find their gazes held for a little too long and the odd awkward silence sometimes lapse between them when they realised their physical closeness after grabbing each other's shirts in an argument. They would shake their heads or slap themselves to snap out of it all the while feeling a strange queasiness in their chests and the lurch in their stomachs. Daichi felt the off-ness between the two and separated the two, hoping some space would clear their simple minds.

'That's the tenth serve you've missed today Hinata!' Tanaka yelled, karate chopping his kohai on the head.

'Ouch! Tanaka-senpai! I'm not doing anything wrong!' Hinata protested, clutching his head.

'What's wrong? Did you eat something weird? Or…' he grinned slyly, 'did a girl confess to you?' He batted his eyelashes and pouted his lips, making kissy noises. 'Ah… Hinata-san,' he said in a high-pitched feminine voice and smirking at Hinata's expression, 'i… I l-like youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!' He roared with laughter and pounded his teammate on the back, making him stumble and gag in shock.

'Hm, the shrimp seems off today,' Tsukishima drawled in his usual monotone, 'Do girls make him nervous instead of matches now?' He smirked.

'Ah no…' said Hinata and huffed as if worn out from practice and the teasing. Suga, watching the interaction, rose his eyebrows at the orange head's lethargy. Hinata was always hyped up in practice and hardly ever showed such a blank expression. Well, except when he was overly nervous and couldn't sleep like on the first day of the practice match with Aobajōsai high school. But this was different and Suga was sure that this behaviour linked to his mistake with the plush gifts. He sighed. His intention of the gifts was simply to reinforce the companionship within the team. Not to cause this mess.

'Hinata,' said Suga kindly, 'how are you feeling?'

'I'm much better now Suga-san!' Hinata beamed. 'All thanks to you!' Suga cringed on the inside. His first instinct was to ask if Hinata if he was really okay then emphasise the fact Kageyama didn't actually like him and finally apologise whole heartedly and formally. What was this uneasiness? This guilt?

'I'm really sorry Hinata,' Suga said and bowed, still anxious.

'Uwah! Suga-san there's no need to apologise. It was just a mistake after all and anyone could've done it,' Hinata waved his hands, flustered at the sudden formality of his senpai.

'But… you're still troubled by something. At least something involving Kageyama,' Sugawara protested against Hinata's forgiveness.

'U-uhm I don't know myself,' Hinata stuttered, the beginning of a blush spreading across his cheeks, 'but it seems like Kageyama is a lot more cooler recently right? Like he's all like gwuah! And bam! His jump serve is so cool! He-' Hinata stopped as if he realised he was babbling on. 'Argh! What was I saying?' he buried his face in his hands, flushing a tomato red. Suga chuckled in amusement and uneasiness. Would this bode well for Hinata? It seems he would already have feelings for Kageyama? Perhaps, he thought but it could just be an obsession after the misunderstandings of today. It could pass. Maybe this was the uneasiness that he felt earlier. He realised with a jolt would it be possible that Kageyama could be more effected than he realised? He glanced back and saw Kageyama glaring at them. The senpai shivered at the icy look. Was Kageyama jealous or just impatient he was taking up time in volleyball doing nothing but making Hinata embarrassed?

'Senpai, we should continue practice,' Hinata reminded him, snapping him back into reality.

'Yes we should.'

'Good work today! Keep this up!'

'Osu!'

'Hahahahaha!' Hinata gloated as he raced far ahead of the group. He turned back and yelled 'Bye Kageyama!'

'You dumbass!' echoed rather faintly. Hinata smiled and pedalled hard, intent on getting home. He was tired, being exhausted emotionally and physically. The thudding of feet sent sweat dropping from his forehead.

'Why didn't you wait?' heaved Kageyama, bending over and coughing from the exertion. 'We got meat buns from Suga-san,' he held up a paper bag 'but you dashed off like a dumbass.' He opened it and offered it Hinata. Hinata was glad it was kind of dark, with only street lamps giving off a source of light as his face heated up. He clumsily took one and shoved it in his mouth, true Hinata style before uttering a muttered thanks that came out more like 'fanks' but Kageyama grunted, acknowledging his appreciation. Hinata considered saying more but his brain was working overdrive again at the unexpected generosity of his teammate. He faced away from Kageyama, pretending to enjoy the breeze and looking at the moths buzzing near the lamps. Kageyama was doing the same thing but he was occasionally glancing at Hinata, wondering if the dumbass would choke with his overfull mouth. He squished his cheek in frustration as he turned away. What were these feelings? Why was he so concerned about Hinata? Was it the feeling guilt Suga-san told him about?

They walked, uneasiness quelling in their chests.


	4. Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and embarrassment incoming

'Hey guys!' Tanaka greeted them. Nishinoya's eyes glinted almost evilly from behind his shoulder. Hinata gulped at the cunning faces of their rowdy senpais.

'We have got the ultimate love game!' Nishinoya yelled, striking a pose and lifting a small packet in the air. 'The Pocky game!' Daichi and Suga sighed simultaneously. Yamaguchi giggled. 'This will prove our towering love for Shimizu-san!' Nishinoya and Tanaka began to dance, cheering and yelling. The door opened.

'Shimizu-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!' they squealed and dashed towards her. 'Play the Pocky game with us!' They already stuck the biscuit in their mouth and leaned towards her. Daichi dragged them by their collars before they could harass the manger any further. They munched disappointedly on their treats as Daichi dumped them back to the company of the main group.

'You look like disappointed puppies,' he remarked and a few members laughed, 'If you have so much energy you should put it into practice,' he reprimanded.

'They don't need a lecture Daichi,' Suga pointed out, 'they're sad enough already,'

'Puppies denied by their master,' Tsukishima added mildly.

'You'll have better luck next time senpai!' Hinata tried to cheer the dejected pair up. The word senpai has an eletrcifying effect on the two rowdy members.

'I'm not upset at all!' declared Tanaka, wiping tears openly, 'It's a man's job to bear with pain!'

'Pfft! Of course Tanaka!' Nishinoya announced loudly, tears freshly streaming down his face, 'We are real men!' They went to cry together.

'"Real men",' Tsukishima intoned.

'Well,' Daichi picked up the abandoned packet on the floor, 'does anyone want some? No games of course,' he added.

'Me!' Hinata dashed to the captain and grabbed a stick before devouring it in several chomps.

'Oi dumass,' Kageyama called, 'You have a smudge of chocolate on your face,' Tsukishima snickered.

'Eh?' Hinata rubbed at his cheeks furiously, 'Is it gone?'

'No, move left… more left… more… Hinata how can you now get it? It's huge!' Kageyama growled, impatience snapping and he stormed his way over to roughly grab his teammate's cheek and rubbed at it savagely, giving the feeling of the Chinese Burn.

'Yowwwwchhh! Let gooooo!' Hinata beat off Kageyama's hands and covered his cheek, one eye rather teary from reflex of the pain. He glared and pouted and Kageyama's stomach lurched. His heart thudded. He turned away. Was guilt really this bad?

'Sorry,'

'It's fine but geez! Were you trying to kill me?' Hinata whined. 'Is it at least gone now?' He cautiously uncovered his cheek, turning slightly.

'No,' and with that Kageyama walked away, barely able to keep a smile off face.

'Oi! Come back here Kageyama!'

'It'll be there for the rest of the day,' he added, turning back to see Hinata's indignant face and grinned mischievously.

Hinata seemed to freeze in place before turning red in anger, embarrassment and shock to Kageyama's smile.

It seemed to suit much better than his frown anyway.

What? Hinata shook his head. Did Kageyama's smile really affect him this way before? As far as he knew, Kageyama's smile was creepy. Yes, creepy Kageyama and his frowny frown face.

 

Even though Hinata pestered all his teammates, none of them answered him as they caught onto Kageyama's joke. Who knew the King could have a sense of humour? Tsukishima had remarked, earning a glare from the dark haired setter. Maybe he would appear like an overprotective boyfriend. Wait. What? Kageyama quietly groaned in embarrassment, face palming himself and messing up his fringe. He leaned his forehead against a wall, letting Hinata walk ahead.

'Why are you being such a-' Hinata said, turning around to Kageyama. He stopped, realising his opportunity to wipe off the smudge with the towel in his hands. He dashed around the gym, frantically wiping his face before the King of the Court got his hands on him. He glanced down at the towel. Success! He continued rubbing, staining his towel brown in numerous places but he laughed as Kageyama realised that he allowed Hinata to escape.

Finally they collapsed. Hinata still giggling triumphantly but as out of breath as Kageyama. He rolled over to face the setter, flushed from the chase. He thought he glimpsed a strange bewildered expression on Kageyama's face but it quickly disappeared, leaving Hinata if he had just imagined it.

'I got it off!' he grinned. Kageyama grunted, still breathing heavily and turned his head away from Hinata, thoughts in a swirl. Flushed cheeks. Slightly open mouth. Breathless. Big brown eyes- oh shit not again. He scowled, fortunate he had turned away.

'But you still missed a spot,' he said as he smirked, still hidden from view.

'Eh?' he exclaimed.

'Not telling.'

Hinata had bugged his teammates throughout the whole day and although Sugawara and Daichi had truthfully given him an honest answer, it was suspiciously identical to everyone else's: there's no smudge. Unfortunately for Hinata, Tsukishima and Tanaka messed up the honestly of the captain and vice-captain's answer with their shady smirks and whispers. The orange head gave up at the end of practice. He dejectedly made his way home.

'Hinata,' he already knew who it was. Hinata bit his lip and wondered briefly. Was Kageyama being… nice today? Nice? Kageyama? Those words didn't ever go together. Yeah, he added in firm resolve, he didn't even tell me about the chocolate smudge that has been on my face for the whole day. But he was… nice yesterday because he caught up with me and shared buns with me. He blushed and rubbed a hand on his warm cheek. He had to cool down fast otherwise Kageyama would make fun of him.

'Kageyamaa!' he pleaded with puppy dog eyes, 'Tell me where the smudge is!' Kageyama faltered for a split second as his inner thoughts went into turmoil. What the heck are you doing? He reprimanded himself.

'Ok, fine,' he huffed. He reached over and flicked Hinata's nose emitting out of him a squeak and a yelp of pain.

'Bakageyama! You're so mean!' Hinata stuck out his tongue and pedalled speedily away.


	5. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is short chapter in preparation for the incoming angsty complications.

Hinata had plotted his revenge. Over the week, he had practiced his flicks on numerous things, not people and finally, came the perfect opportunity.

Daichi-san was buying meat buns.

'Kageyama,'

A grunt.

'You have… crumbs,' Hinata could barely keep himself from giggling.

'Hm? Where?'

'Here… no higher! Higher!' Hinata turned away as if giving up, huffing. Kageyama grabbed his arm.

'Tell me!'

'Hmph!' Hinata stuck out his chin defiantly.

'Tell me you dumbass!' Hinata turned around and taking aim, flicked Kageyama hard in the nose. He laughed at his teammate's surprised grunt and teary eyes. After he recovered, he gave the chilliest glare and chased after Hinata like a demon. Hinata's heart pounded in panic and goosebumps raised on his arms as he realised the enraged setter was steadily gaining on him. He squeaked as he felt a hand grab at his shirt and wobbled ominously on his bike. The hand roughly jerked him sideways. He fell backwards and watched his bike fall.

'Oomph!' Hinata landed. Behind him there was a groan. He quickly sat up and realised he had fallen on top of Kageyama. On top? 'Sorry Kageyama!' He stood up hastily, flustered.

'Guh… just don't to that next time,' muttered Kageyama, rubbing his head.

'Do what?'

'Run off like that!'

'What? It's only because you were chasing me like a demon!'

'That's because you flicked me!'

'You did that and worse last time!'

'Maybe if you slowed down and didn't eat sweets like a dumbass you wouldn't have chocolate everywhere!'

'Who cares? You could've been nice and helped me!'

'I did!'

'And I got a burn mark from your help!'

'You didn't say how hard to rub!'

'You wouldn't do it enough to make a person yell in pain!' Silence expanded as Kageyama struggled finding a comeback. Hinata grinned in triumph. Kageyama rose and dusted himself off.

'I was don't want to be alone, d-dumbass so don't run off,' he growled but Hinata would see his lips tremble slightly as if … he was struggling to say those words? Hinata jumped to tending his bike before his head would melt. Kageyama was worried about him? W-was he even capable of these feelings? He thought as he snuck a glance over his shoulder back at the setter. Their gazes met and flitted away. Kageyama was deadpanning but was that- was he… blushing? Hinata turned his head back quickly. What are you daydreaming about?

'Ah… I'll see you later Kageyama. I need to get home and get this fixed,' he spoke rapidly and was about to push off when he felt another grab on his shirt.

'Is it broken? How are you going to get home then?' Was that… tone in Kageyama's voice? He sounded worried? Is Kageyama sick?

'It's not broken!' Hinata waved him aside. 'It's just a little scratched!' He pouted, hoping to ease some humour into the situation and added 'Because someone turned into a monster,'

'Hey!' Kageyama glared at him. The orange head laughed.

'See you tomorrow!'

'Yeah.'

Hinata's face was heated as he raced home. What if he said yes? What if his bike was really broken? Would Kageyama bring him to… his house? And would he sleep in, he gasped, in his room? Sleeping in a room with Kageyama? What if he didn't have spare futon from guests because he doesn't have any friends and he had to sleep with him?

'Ugyaaa!' Hinata yelped, snapping himself from his thoughts. He patted his face, wondering if it cooled down. To no avail. He sighed. Maybe things might be better tomorrow.


	6. Dumbass

'Hi Yachi-san!' Hinata waved enthusiastically at the blonde as he entered the gym after school. 'You came to watch today!'

'Yes,' Yachi said, grinning apologetically, 'I had to take care of some things so I couldn't attend practice,' she pouted.

'It's okay!' Hinata said jovially, patting her head, 'Because you're here now and that's all that matters!'

'Thanks Hinata-kun!' she said, beaming.

'Hinata! Stop flirting with Yachi-san and get to practice!' Tanaka called out, barely able to keep his jealousy in check. Daichi smacked the back of his head.

'Ahaha…' Hinata laughed weakly, unable to stop a slight blush from spreading over his cheeks. 'I'll talk to you later Yachi-san!' He ran off to practice.

 

'Watch out Yachi-san!'

'Huh?' Yachi blinked out of her daze to realise a blur of movement heading towards her. Another blur zoomed in front of her.

'Oomph!' Hinata grunted as he stretched to his limit to stop the ball. He promptly fell with a splat.

'Nice save Hinata!' Tanaka roared with approval.

'Ah! I'm sorry Hinata-kun,' Yachi knelt beside the middle blocker and examined his face for injuries.

'Don't worry Yachi-san!' Hinata grinned. He patted her hand. 'I'm okay now.' He got up and ran off to the court again.

'Well aren't you two getting along well!' Shimizu smiled behind her clipboard as she gazed fondly at the Yachi. She giggled.

'Hinata-kun is really kind. He's helped me out a lot!'

'What are you talking about Yachi-san! You've helped me out with studying and notes and a bunch of other stuff! I would fail tests without you!' Hinata called, overhearing her compliments as he towelled his head. Shimizu laughed gently at their bickering and moved on, intent on recording and organising.

'Uhm… excuse me… excuse me,' Yachi tried to manoeuvre her way through the volleyball members whilst holding a large cardboard box. Her arms trembled slightly. She made her way to the storage room.

'Eek!' she shrieked suddenly as she felt her foot catch onto something. The box flew out of her grasp as she tumbled down.

'Yachi-san?' Are you okay?' Hinata entered the room and knelt down beside her.

'Hm? I'm… alright I guess,' Yachi sat up dazedly. Her eyes widened. 'Oh no! The box!'

'Don't worry about that!' Hinata reassured her. 'As long as you're fine, everything's going to work out.'

'We heard something?' Daichi poked his head in. 'Did …' he trailed off, looking at the pair both on the floor.

'Daichi-san, Yachi fell down and I came to see if she was okay,' Hinata piped up, standing. The captain nodded in approval.

'Good to see you hold our manager so close,' he said as he left the room.

'Uh… Yachi-san are you fine now?' Hinata asked.

'Mhm!' Yachi beamed. She stood up. 'Thanks for helping me Hinata-kun!'

'It was nothing!' Hinata grinned.

'Uh… Hinata-kun, I also want to ask you something…' she trailed off uneasily, eyes on the floor.

'Of course you can!'

'Then… uhm' She looked up, face red.

'Yachi-san?' Hinata asked, surprised at her sudden turn.

'Uhm… Hinata…' she whispered, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt. 'I…'

'Oi Hinata! What's taking so long to pack up dumbass?' Kageyama yelled as he stormed in, promptly grabbed the shocked middle blocker by the collar, nodded acknowledgement to Yachi and stormed out.

'Kageyama! Let go!' Hinata yowled, squirming about in the setter's grip. 'Yachi was going to tell me something!'

'Yeah what?' Kageyama growled, keeping the death grip upon the collar as he continued dragging his friend to his bike.

'I don't know why but Yachi-san seemed upset!' Hinata yelled. Kageyama froze, momentarily loosening his grip on the collar and Hinata used opportunity to jerk free. 'Her face went all red and her voice went all quiet!' he added hotly, still stung over the sudden treatment. He turned and ran back to the gymnasium, leaving Kageyama completely astonished.

'She already went home?' Hinata whined as Tanaka sombrely nodded.

'She went home in a rush, saying she had things at home,' he said, taking off his shoes at the doorway. 'Why are you asking?'

'She… uh… she said she wanted to tell me something but Kageyama barged in and dragged me off before she could say it!'

'Really?' Tanaka grinned. 'What did she want to tell you?'

'Well I don't know since she didn't say so but she went all red and her voice went really quiet,'

'You lucky man!' Tanaka yelled, pounding his kohai on the back. 'It must have been a confession!'

'What?' Hinata exclaimed.

'She must have been like this right?' Tanaka stood up and clasped his hands together, squeezing his shoulders. 'Hinata-kun,' he whispered, looking at the floor and squirming. 'Hinata-kun,' he looked up, eyebrow drawn together in false apprehension. 'I ... I like yoooou!' he drawled loudly much to the sputtering Hinata. 'It was like that right?'

'Uh… yeah! That was amazing Tanaka-senpai! That was exactly what Yachi-san was like!'

'Of course!' Tanaka bragged, drawing himself to his full height. 'I am a master of love!'

'That's so cool Tanaka-senpai!' Hinata's eyes sparkled.

 

Kageyama walked absentmindedly, kicking at the small stones on the road. Judging from what Yachi-san said… was going to say she liked Hinata? It sounded like the other girls who came stammering and blushing when they confessed their feelings to Kageyama himself. Why was he thinking about this? No… why would he care so much for that little shrimp? He snorted. Hinata was simply a teammate so any love interest would be known to the team. After all, he added as reassurance to himself that he was not obsessed with that dumbass, what if such things affected him badly on court? What if Hinata rejected Yachi-san? Would he feel guilty? Kageyama saw the tears of some other rejected girls as he mercilessly turned all of them down, completely uninterested in such trivial matters. If he had time for a one of those things called a date then he'd practice volleyball. He'd rather play volleyball until dark than watch a movie with a girl. He was indifferent to their chatters about clothes and boys and other girls. He would prefer to be breathless from sheer exhaustion in training than hold hands and stroll in a park. What if Hinata took time off volleyball to take Yachi-san out? But she was manager and she held responsibilities. But Shimizu-san usually did the brunt of the work, merely guiding the first year with small tasks. Maybe she would have more time after all… and Hinata would probably go. With her. For her. Together.

Kageyama sighed.

There wouldn't be that someone to spike his toss.

Nor that someone to race to school and home with.

Nor would he see that bright stupid stupid stupid smile.

That smile.

That laugh.

That orange flair.

He clutched at his chest, uncomfortable but accustomed to the thudding beat.

That dumbass that got under skin so many times but also brought him out of his secluded kingdom of egocentrism.

That dumbass who would spike his toss with 100% trust, with or without closing his eyes.

That stupid dumbass idiot  _Hinata._

That Hinata with big brown eyes.

That Hinata who could fly like a bird.

That Hinata who would always be ready to face an opponent.

That Hinata who he grinned, laughed, complimented, cheered, yelled and argued with.

With Hinata he felt everything he missed out upon in middle school. He was happy to leave behind the past that haunted him.

With Hinata he was not afraid anymore. He was never going to leave the ball.

But Hinata was going to be taken away from him. Hinata will spend more time with his girlfriend than practicing. His happiness with be with someone else.

It was the sickening jolt at the loss of Hinata that made Kageyama retch and cough. He stumbled and dragged himself along the road, agonised at every movement. His breath was as unsteady as his thoughts.

It was the same.

The same as that time.

They all abandoned me.


	7. Sweet and Sour

Hinata rushed, intent on getting home. He pedalled hard and fast. His thoughts ran wild. Yachi-san! In love with him! Really? He shook his head. He couldn't let that distract him. After a two nights of horrible sleep, he was looking forward to sleeping like a rock. He saw a distant blob slowly become more recognisable as he approached. Kageyama? Why was he still here? Was he sick?

'Kageyama!' Hinata yelled. The shambling figure shot up straight, flicked his head around to glare at him. Hinata faltered. He felt petrified. His limbs stopped working. He felt the breath squeezed out of him. He simply gaped, mouth open and hanging, helpless at the sight of Kageyama in the brief second of eye contact.

It was so cold and terrifying. It was unlike anything he'd seen before. It was at least a million times worse than the Kageyama back in middle school. This Kageyama was… was it even Kageyama? Hinata swallowed as he rode his bike slowly, still slightly trembling.

'Uh… Kageyama? Are you okay?' he asked tentatively, sneaking glances at his friend. Kageyama looked at him without turning his head.

'Do you think so?' his voice was very soft. Hinata felt icicles slide down his back. He dared to glance once more at Kageyama. It was horrifying. The scariest thing he ever experienced. Compared to the time when he spiked the ball into his teammate's head, or been on that rollercoaster when he was ten or when the ball knocked off the dean's wig. None of that was even remotely close to this. This. Kageyama's eyes were bleak and harsh. It reminded Hinata of the depths of the ocean filled with creatures of the deep. Dark, dangerous and violent as if Kageyama was perfectly capable of slitting Hinata's throat and leaving him in the dust. His scowl was scrunched up more than usual and his mouth was tight.

'K-kageyama, if something is troubling you, you should talk to someone about it. Like Suga-san or me or anyone in the team,' Hinata spoke up bravely, feeling his heart thudding and chilly sweat on the back of his neck.

'There's no point because nothing is wrong,' came the toneless reply. With that Kageyama turned off at the crossroad without a goodbye. Hinata could only stop and stare in horror and shock at the retreating figure.

 

Hinata didn't sleep well again last night. He was drained, being the most emotionally exhausted ever since the loss against Aobajōsai. He pedalled to school without his usual speed and mechanically locked his bike. His eyes lit up as he suddenly realised Yachi-san still had something to tell him! The bell rang and he sighed. It would have to wait until break.

'Yachi-san!' Hinata raced his way through the crowd in the corridor.

'Hinata-kun?' Yachi seemed surprised he was looking for her.

'You had something to tell me yesterday before Kageyama,' Hinata broke off suddenly remembering the chill he experienced yesterday, 'Before he dragged me off and I've been wondering what is was.'

'Oh!' Yachi suddenly went ashen. 'Could you please…' she trailed off, lips trembling. She looked up, eyes watery. Hinata stepped backwards in shock over her change of mood.

'Yachi-san?' he asked weakly.

'Please…!'

'Yeah…?'

'Tell Shimizu-san that I mixed all her files when I dropped the box!' Yachi cried, tears threatening to spill down.

'Wha-?'

'I know how long she spent organising the files and I couldn't tell her that I mixed it all up again!'

'Yachi-sa-'

'I'm a horrible person I know! I should have been more careful and watched my footing and … and …' Yachi sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands.

'Yachi-san?' Hinata asked, still in shock. He patted her head.

'I'm so sorry Hinata-kun! But I can't tell Shimizu-san that I did!' she wailed into her hands.

'It's okay Yachi-san! I'll help you organise those files again so we don't have to bother Shimizu-san!' Hinata grinned as Yachi lifted up her tear streaked face.

'Really?' she asked weakly. Hinata gave a thumbs up.

'Of course!'

'When?'

'Right now! Before the break ends!' He dragged her upright and rushed down the hall.

 

Kageyama brooded throughout the whole day. His dangerous mood sending anyone fleeing. He sat alone behind a building when he heard…

'C'mon Yachi-san!'

Oh the dumbass.

'Slow down Hinata-kun!'

And his  _girlfriend_.

Kageyama gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. It bothered him so much. Their laughs. Their happiness. He crushed the milk popper in his fist in a blind second of rage and it overflowed onto himself. He cursed, wiping the liquid off his clothes before binning the drink, not bothering to finish it. Settling into the same hunched position, he glared into the direction of the bubbling voices that passed him.

'Whoa there's so much!' Hinata blanched as Yachi opened the box. She smiled sheepishly.

'Yeah. That's why I felt terrible,' she admitted.

'Well don't worry, we'll get these done in no time!' Hinata tried an optimistic approach to the huge task ahead of them.

 

After ten minutes Hinata huffed and shuffled the papers impatiently, wishing he had a magic spell to do this.

'Hinata-kun you don't have to do this,' Yachi smiled, rather amused at Hinata's childish restlessness.

'No! I want to help you do this!' he protested immediately, straightening up and fixing the papers. His eyes burned with a fierce determination. Yachi giggled at his seriousness.

'I know! I'll get Kageyama! He sits around doing nothing at break anyways!' Hinata jumped up and dashed out of the room.

'Kageyama!' Hinata greeted while running at him. Kageyama slightly titled his lowered head to see him.

'Kageyama! Yachi-san and I need your help!' Hinata bent over to peer at the sliver of his teammate's face.

'Go away,' Kageyama mumbled, inwardly groaning, 'You don't need my help.'

'Yes we do!

'Shut up dumbass Hinata!'

'Yes!'

'How about you man up and just deal with it yourself?' Kageyama snapped, lifting his head to glare at Hinata. 'You don't need me. Not for this.'

'Kageyama!' Hinata whined, attempting to haul the setter up. 'Heeeeelp!'

'Shut up!' Kageyama yelled, shoving Hinata backwards before storming off.

'Kageyama! You meanie!' Hinata yelled into the emptiness. His downturned mouth and clenched fists followed him back to the storage room.

'Kageyama didn't want to help?' Yachi asked kindly, seeing the upset Hinata enter the room. He nodded sulkily.

'Yeah, he just didn't want to and shoved me and ran away,' he muttered.

'Maybe he thought it was too much.'

'No Yachi-san. I didn't even say anything about this. He just… didn't want to help at all,' Hinata dejectedly shuffled through the papers.

'Maybe he's upset over something? Was he any different yesterday?' Hinata's eyes widened.

'Yeah! Yesterday was… he was really angry over something. He had the scariest look on him. He didn't look like Kageyama at all,' Hinata shivered at the memory, 'His eyes went all dark and he didn't talk to me much. It reminds of me of how he was when he went against the Great King. You can tell he's thinking but you don't know what. It's just all stuck inside.' Yachi considered this for a moment.

'Well… you did ask him right?'

'Of course! But he said that there's nothing wrong with him,'

'Maybe… Suga-san could talk to him?'

'Maybe…' they both trailed off. The shifting of papers continued.

'Well… if he's still angry, maybe I could talk to him?' Yachi offered.

'That would be good! Just don't be scared of him okay? His frown rarely means anything! It's just how he is,' Hinata laughed.

'I'll try,' Yachi replied, slightly nervous from the thought of Kageyama's glare. They continued chatting casually and continued sorting through the papers.

'There!' Hinata huffed, placing the last stack in the box. He wiped his forehead and stood up, stretching his shoulders and back. Yachi breathed a sigh of relief as she too stood upright.

'Thanks a lot Hinata-kun!' she bowed. Hinata chuckled.

'No worries Yachi-san! Maybe next time I'll carry the box so you can take it easy,' Hinata said. The bell rang.

'Mm, I'll see you at practice Hinata-kun!' Yachi waved as they parted ways.

'Bye Yachi-san!'


	8. Pushing Away

'Hm? Kageyama what happened to your hands?' Sugawara pointed out his fellow setter's bruised and cut up knuckles and finger joints. Kageyama turned away.

'Nothing,' he said as he moved away, no doubt to find some Band-Aids to cover it up. Suga frowned. Kageyama wasn't the type to pick fights. But recently he was not himself recently. He sighed. He called after his kohai setter.

'Kageyama?' He saw the first year turn his head slowly.

'Yes, Suga-san?' From this angle, despite Kageyama's long fringe, Sugawara could faintly see a red patch on Kageyama's forehead, as if he ran into a wall or got hit by a soccer ball.

'Don't go doing that again. You can talk to people. It might not be the easiest thing for you but it's better than hurting yourself,' Suga told him sternly. He guessed Kageyama would hit something in frustration when pent up emotions became too much to bear. From Kageyama's momentary wide eyed reaction, he assumed his guess was correct. One, Kageyama was angry and frustrated over something or someone. Two, the problem either persisted for a long time or was short and inflicted intense emotions on him. It was something about Hinata wasn't it? Those troublesome children would be the death of him one day.

'Go and patch yourself up.' Suga sighed as his troubled teammate turned away.

 

Kageyama sucked at applying bandages. The stupid individual packaging annoyed him. It didn't help he had to cover each injury with one hand either. He growled in frustration before moving to dispose of the Band-Aids.

'Uh, Kageyama-kun do you need help?'

Kageyama jumped as if someone put ice down his shirt. He whipped around.

'Yachi-san…'

'I'm okay,' Kageyama deadpanned, barely able to keep his emotions in check.

'Uh… Kageyama-kun, Hinata said you seemed upset after training yesterday and he's really worried about you.'

'I'm okay Yachi-san. It's just Hinata being overexcited,' Kageyama felt his partner's name taste like acid on his tongue.

'Really?' Yachi laughed weakly. She waved dismissively in the air. 'If you need help Kageyama-kun, I'm always open to hear your problems,'

'Thanks Yachi-san but I'm fine.' Kageyama couldn't unclench his fists and stiff shoulders.

'Okay,' she nodded as she left. A few metres out the door and she caught her breath.

'What was I thinking?'

 

As a result, Kageyama had opted for smaller Band-Aids as they were somewhat easier to put on but he knew from the repeated hand contracts and movements they would fall off and his bruises and cuts would be revealed to Suga-san and possibly the team. Possibly Daichi-san as well. He shuddered at the memory of the captain's anger. He would definitely not show anyone, even if it meant checking these coverings every few minutes for the whole of training.

'Hey Kageyama!' Hinata greeted. Kageyama scowled and turned away, refusing to acknowledge the middle blocker. 'Are you ignoring me?' Hinata appeared in front of him. Alarmed, Kageyama turned away, shielding his face as if Hinata was a bright light. 'What happened to your hands?' Hinata grabbed them.

'Nothing you dumbass!' Kageyama viciously hissed, trying to yank his hand away. Hinata clung on stubbornly. 'Let go!' Kageyama yelled, shoving Hinata for the second time that day.

'Oomph!' Hinata landed on his back. He sprung up again. 'Kageyama!' he protested. 'Why are you always pushing me away? I only want to help you,' he said, and zeroed on Kageyama's hand again, lifting it up to inspect it. Kageyama's eyes narrowed. This was wrong. Enjoying the warmth. Hinata's hands were small but they held firm. Just like his belief to win and stay on the court. 'Kageyama?' Hinata waved his free hand into his teammate's face. Kageyama blinked.

'I'm fine,' He stated, on reflex. Hinata pouted immediately and raised the bandaged hand into Kageyama's face, like he was presenting solid evidence to an obvious lie.

'This is not fine! Why are you hurt?' he said indignantly. 'Did you lose a fight?' he added smugly. Kageyama deadpanned as he slowly moved his free hand to Hinata's hair.

And yanked hard.

'Yowch!' Hinata yelped, clutching his head with both hands. 'Let go Kageyama!'

'Do my hands seem injured to you?'

'No, no! Definitely not! Let go!' Hinata agreed hurriedly.

'So don't bother me again,' Kageyama growled, 'and don't tell anyone about it. My hands are fine.' Truthfully though, they were throbbing and aching from the continuous strain of clutching Hinata's hair. He let go. Hinata massaged his head.

'Ready to start practice now?' Daichi appeared behind them, smiling. It was equivalent of a shark's smile before it moved onto an unfortunate prey. The pair gulped.

'Yes sir.'

'Good.'

 

'What did I tell you before?' Kageyama shouted at Hinata. He strode to the floored middle blocker and began his lecture. Sugawara and Daichi, taking a momentary break, watched the pair's ruckus began yet again.

'Those two…' Daichi sighed, rubbing his temple. Sugawara hummed in agreement as the stubborn pair picked themselves up again.

'They're definitely on edge today,' he said, watching another attempt that ended in failure as well.

'Idiot dumbass Hinata!' Kageyama yelled, kicking the middle blocker in the backside. Sugawara winced slightly. Hinata thudded to the ground as he screeched in surprise and pain. He rubbed his sore spot as he glared up to Kageyama.

'I'm trying my best stupid Kageyama! Why don't you stop hitting me and just give me another toss!'

'That's because nothing is getting through your thick head!'

'I'm trying Kageyama!'

'You're useless!'

'I'm not! ' Hinata scrunched up his face and turned away. Kageyama never called him useless before. No in the way he meant it now. Just because their new combination wasn't going so well he didn't have to call him useless. Hinata bit his lip. It hurt. It really did. It reminds him of how he felt after that loss in middle school, after their loss to Aobajōsai. The way his spike was knocked straight down. The way he trained so hard to become better at receives and then see the Great King's serve.

'Daichi…' the grey haired setter warned the captain, feeling an imminent falling out between the problem children.

'Are you really that upset dumbass?' Kageyama drawled out coldly. Hinata whipped around and they glared at each other.

'That's enough! Kageyama, Hinata stop for a moment and cool off!' Daichi ordered, arms crossed. Neither of the duo acknowledged his command. They continued the glare off.

'Stupid Kageyama!' Hinata shoved him. 'Do you really think just because I don't get it as fast as you do that I don't work as hard! Everyone says you're genius and you really are! But right now you're doing nothing to help me! All you're doing is kicking and pulling my hair and calling me a dumbass! If you were normal, all you'd do is pick up the ball and toss again! Over and over and over again until we got it right! But you're different Kageyama! You're hiding something again and trying to solve it by yourself but it won't work! All it's doing is making you angry and cold! So tell me Kageyama!' he yelled, huffing. 'Tell me what's wrong!' Kageyama hesitated, resolve wavering. He hid his trembling clenched fists behind him. He did want to tell him. To tell him how it hurt for him to be taken away. He wanted to tell him about their promise to take on the world. He wanted to tell him to choose volleyball over his girlfriend. He wanted yell, punch and hug Hinata all at the same time. But he couldn't tell him. Not now. Not ever. He would have to get away from him. Before he explodes.

'Nothing's wrong.'

Hinata screwed up his mouth and glared at Kageyama, not backing down. The setter returned it easily, using his height to tower over his teammate.

'Something's wrong Kageyama! You just won't admit it!' Hinata poked in the chest with his finger. Kageyama caught his wrist.

'Don't touch me,' he growled, looking at Hinata dead in the eyes. 'Don't look at me and don't talk to me because I never want to be around you. Ever again. I hate you. I never thought of you as my partner or teammate. You're just some annoying brat who can never play volleyball seriously. We're not friends so I don't get why you're annoying me. You're a useless, annoying, a real dumbass idiot who wastes everyone's time on court and off court,' He saw the brown orbs widen and he stepped back, releasing the limp hand. He turned and left the gym without a second glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have bandages and tissues available on request c:


	9. Misunderstandings

The whole gym was silent, every pair of eyes watching the speechless Hinata. He appeared frozen for about ten seconds before dashing for the change rooms.

'That was a phenomenal argument,' Tsukishima muttered. Yamaguchi lightly slapped him on the shoulder.

'Don't be so mean Tsukki!' He reprimanded. 'For Kageyama to leave practice after an argument… means that…' he trailed off, looking worried.

'It really was a big one then,' the blonde said, sighing, 'Those hot-headed simple minded idiots.'

'Tsukki!'

'Whatever. Fine.'

'Is Hinata going to be okay?' Asahi asked, expression mirroring Yamaguchi's.

'Of course he will!' Nishinoya clapped him on the back, sending a squeak from the ace. 'Because Suga-san's got it covered!' He was right, they all thought as they glanced about, because the vice-captain was nowhere to be seen. But the captain was still there, arms folded and in a horrible mood.

'Get back to practice!'

'Hinata?' the grey haired setter poked his head in the change room. Hinata was silent on the bench, not turning to acknowledge his senior. Sugawara heard a sniffle and a quiet cough, where he suspected Hinata cleared his throat.

'I'm okay Suga-san!' Hinata said, trying to sound his usually upbeat self and failing miserably. Suga waited at the door, not wanting to invade Hinata's space.

'Do you feel Kageyama is a bit different from usual?' Suga asked. He saw the orange fluff nod.

'Yeah… he always doesn't want to talk even though he needs help. He doesn't hit me so hard,' Hinata absentmindedly rubbed his lower back, 'He… never called me useless before… well not since the beginning where he said he would receive, toss and spike by himself,' he said, sighing.

'When has he been acting like this?' Sugawara prompted, expecting the worst.

'He's been really nice until… yesterday I guess. When we were walking home,' a thoughtful tone entered Hinata's voice. Nice? Sugawara scratched his cheek. To think of it, Kageyama was particularly playful with Hinata regarding the Pocky incident and has been softer towards him over the few weeks after Valentine's Day. Suga paused as he heard a ruckus.

'Ah! Yachi-san! You should check on your boyfriend!' Tanaka's voice carried across the gym. He laughed. 'I'm sorry I forgot because you only started going out today right?' Sugawara' eyebrows shot up in shock. What? His thoughts were echoed by the voices of the teammates.

'Ah- Tanaka-senpai uhm…'

'Really?' Nishinoya joined in. 'Damn, what a lucky guy!'

'I know right?' Tanaka exclaimed.

'Should you really be announcing it like this?' Asahi added in timidly.

'Of course! The faster the better!' Nishinoya whooped and there was loud thudding the floor as he jumped around. Suga heard more mumbles, no doubt of the sarcastic Tsukishima and probably Yamaguchi's response. He turned back to Hinata who was sitting straight up on the bench.

'Hinata, is this true?' the setter asked. Hinata shuffled around.

 

Kageyama crouched outside, clutching his head. He felt sick and nauseous His stomach churned and his headache pounded. His breath came out in ragged gasps as his heart hammered in his chest. His vision blurred in and out of focus, from the headache or the tears that threatened to overflow. What was wrong with him? He felt so horrible. So guilty. So sick of everything. Volleyball was the last thing he wanted to do because volleyball meant moving. It also meant Hinata. And Yachi-san. It also meant having to face his teammates after that argument. He heard the silence and felt the stares follow him as he left.

'What…' he hardly recognised his own voice. What is it really his weak and croaky? 'What's,' he buried his face in his arms, 'wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? Why am I being like this?' He sobbed, wails and retches racking his body. He hasn't felt frustration, anger, guilt and hurt like this in a while. Not since when his team abandoned him in middle school. But here he was again.

Alone.

 

'No, Suga-san. It's not true,'

'Do you mind if I sit next to you? I'm rather tired standing here,' Sugawara joked lightly.

'Uhm… of course you can,' Hinata's voice trembled slightly. His senpai moved and sat, leaving comfortable space between them.

'How come Tanaka thinks so?'

'Well I was going to the storage room to get more balls when I heard Yachi-san cry out. So I found her on the floor with a box in front of her. Then I helped her up and she said she wanted to ask me something and her face went all red and her voice went really quiet. But Kageyama came in and dragged me out before Yachi-san could say anything. When I went back I asked Tanaka-senpai where she went but Yachi-san already went home. I told him how Yachi-san was acting and then he started laughing and said that she wanted to confess to me!' Suga nodded Hinata along. It was reasonable, Sugawara thought, seeing that Tanaka was a romanticiser and Yachi-san's behaviour pretty much matched a confession. Hinata continued 'But when I went to her today and asked her what she was talking about yesterday, her face went all pale and she started crying.' Sugawara nearly choked.

'What?'

'And then she told me how horrible she felt for dropping the box and mixing up the files that Shimizu-san organised. She wanted me to tell Shimizu-san that she would have to re-organise the files again and she'll take a long time to do it all over again,'

'Oh, I see. Go on,'

'Well, I asked her if I could help her so we wouldn't have to tell Shimizu-san that and just fix it ourselves. She was happy but still kind of upset. So we went to the gym and started organising the files,' Hinata huffed, 'It got really boring so I went to get Kageyama to help us but he didn't want to,'

'Why?'

'I don't know. I didn't explain what I was doing. He just said no and pushed me and went away,'

'I see,' Sugawara's face was calm but also serious. It was almost his game face.

'Suga-san?' Hinata said, peering worriedly at his senpai.

'Don't worry Hinata,' Suga smiled as he ruffled his kohai's hair. 'I think Kageyama will be back to normal again soon.'

'Really?'

'Yes.'

Honestly though, Sugawara wasn't so sure but right now in the meantime, this was the best comfort he could offer.

'Tanaka!' Sugawara called. Everyone snapped to attention at the vice-captain's voice. It wasn't very often that they heard him be so stern and serious.

'Yes?' Tanaka almost stuttered, well aware that Sugawara could be even scarier than the captain.

'You should let Yachi-san speak for herself,' the setter gestured to the young manager.

'Uhm… I'm sorry Tanaka-senpai but me and Hinata…' she took a deep breath, 'are not dating. I'm sorry but I was just asking Hinata for a favour but I got really nervous because I shouldn't be asking him,' she turned Shimizu. 'I'm really sorry Shimizu-senpai but I dropped the box and mixed up all your files but Hinata-kun and I put them back in place during break today!' Shimizu's eyes widened momentarily before she smiled and gently patted Yachi's head.

'Don't feel bad Hitoko-chan,' she said, 'Everyone makes mistakes.'

'Shimizu-san smiled!' Tanaka whispered, raising his clenched fists.

'The fates have heard us!' Nishinoya added.

'Let's pack up now! We'll end a bit earlier today just to cool off!'

* * *

Kageyama headed home, leaving behind his bag and clothes at the gym. He didn't want to confront his teammates again. Not after that. They all must think he's revered back into the tyrannical king he was in middle school. Especially Hinata. After all he's done, chasing after him and trying to make him feel better, Kageyama has always turned him away.

He reached home later than usual, walking in a zombie like trance. He went straight up to his room, still slightly dizzy. There was no one to greet anyways because his parents were overseas. Maybe he wouldn't go school tomorrow he thought, as he curled up in bed. It'd just be too much trouble.


	10. The Visit

Kageyama wasn't at school today and this bothered both Hinata and Sugawara. Which in turn annoyed Daichi as he sensed they were both slightly unfocused during their training. He didn't want to increase it, but they couldn't fall behind in their training either. He increased it to prepare for the potential tough times ahead with a shortened practice yesterday and with a now-missing setter, an unfocused middle blocker and vice-captain which in turn, made some of the less enthusiastic members more grouchy. He himself was harsher, reprimanding others more easily and letting his bad mood rule over the team. The overall result was a general sullen mood settling over the volleyball team. They packed up and moved out to head home.

'Hinata!' Sugawara caught up with him just as Hinata was wheeling his bike. 'I only have one idea right now if you want Kageyama to be better,' the setter knew he was taking a risk. A huge risk but he held onto the hope that the pair would tire each other out and eventually admit things to each other, thus coming to an understanding. He knew the problem but he decided that the best course of action was to let the clumsy pair fix it themselves. After all, it seems Kageyama needs to organise his feelings. 'You visit him.' He said firmly as Hinata's mouth dropped open. 'Right now.'

'Ehh? But it's so late!'

'I already called but it seems it's just Kageyama there! His parents are overseas or something right now!'

'Ehh? What am I meant to do?'

'Just try to talk to him and if he doesn't want to, fight him!'

'Suga-san are you feeling okay?' Hinata squeaked, unused to seeing this intense side of the vice-captain.

'I am,' he grabbed Hinata's shoulders, 'You're the only one who can do this Hinata.'

'O-okay Suga-san,'

'Remember, just turn right at the crossroad and go to the end of the road. It should be around there."

 

Hinata rung the bell nervously. He waited. No response.

'Kageyama?' he called and rang the doorbell again.

And again.

And again.

It didn't seem like Kageyama was going to open the door anytime soon. He glanced around. Even though it was dark, it was a surprisingly green garden. Did Kageyama enjoy gardening? Hinata snorted in laughter, imagining Kageyama in gardening clothes. He walked around the sides of the house, looking for a window to get in. Lucky! And it was right near a tree too! He scrambled upwards and squinted into the dark window. It didn't seem like anyone was in. He pushed the window upwards and wriggled into the space. He seemed to get a bit stuck but managed to pull through and landed on the floor with a loud thump. He yelped and rubbed his sore spot.

'Hm?' someone murmured sleepily. Hinata froze. Just his luck. Kageyama was sitting up and rubbing his eyes.


	11. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm really making Kageyama out to be a jerk but in my opinion, though slightly exaggerated, he takes time and if someone really nudges and pushes him, he might spill everything out. He's a difficult awkward character and having Hinata there as a polar opposite is really refreshing because he's just stubborn and earnest which pretty much can make Kageyama crack eventually out of sheer annoyance or exhaustion.
> 
> So please be patient until Hinata breaks down the defensive walls of Kageyama's solitary kingdom.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Reviews and messages always appreciated :)

Hinata froze. Oh. Oh. Oh. He hurriedly glanced across the room, looking for an emergency exit.

'Hmmm? Hinata… dumbass… what?' Kageyama yawned and rubbed his eyes.

'Uh… please don't kill me! Suga-san said that I should visit you and that you already knew and …' Hinata continued to babble in panic , waving his hands and slowly backing away as ominous shadows cast on Kageyama's face. Hinata trailed off awkwardly, shielding his head as he waited for a potential beating.

'Why… are you here Hinata?' Kageyama muttered.

'Because…. I…want to help you,' Hinata whispered. He shivered slightly.

'I'm fine Hinata, I don't know why you're so insistent on asking me what's wrong,' Kageyama growled and turned away, settling back into bed, facing the wall. Hinata stepped towards him and yanked the covers away.

'Oi dumbass!' Kageyama yelled suddenly. He scrambled for the fast disappearing blanket in a vain attempt to cover his exposed boxers and soon the pair were in a tug-of-war.

'Why don't you tell me what's wroooooooong!' Hinata drawled out the last word as he heaved.

'Shut up idiot dumbass!' Kageyama barked as he begin reeling in the blanket, hand over hand. Hinata squeaked in alarm as Kageyama jerked the blanket and he stumbled forward blindly in the dim light and sprawled onto Kageyama's bed. 'You ass!' Kageyama shoved him with his knee and sent him landing face first into the floor. The setter's face was drawn in a snarl. He grabbed at Hinata's collar and pulled him towards him. 'What are you doing?' he shouted, 'You shouldn't be here! Much less in my room! You should be getting back home! Why do you still annoy me? Why do you care so much about me when you already have someone important in your life? Are you just trying to make me jealous?'

'Really Bakageyama?' Hinata yelled, 'Why would you think I wouldn't be worried about you when you're like this. You're part of the team. You're the setter. You're my partner and you send me tosses. Of course I would be worried about you!' He pushed Kageyama away from him.

'You shouldn't' be worrying about me! I'm only a volleyball player,' Kageyama snapped back and scowled. He turned away and started smoothing the creases on his blanket.

'Kageyamaaaaaaaaaa!' Hinata screamed as he tackled the setter's back, causing his forehead to passionately embrace the wall in a painful hickey. Slightly disorientated, Kageyama swore violently and they grappled at each other, howling.

'You're such a dumbass!' Kageyama's head throbbed and they fell off the bed and continued rolling.

'You're the dumbass!' said Hinata. 'I know there's something wrong but you won't tell me!'

'I don't want your help and I don't need it!'

'Yes you do! Stop lying Kageyama!'

'Get off me!'

'Not until you tell me what's wrong!' Hinata beat at his teammate's chest in frustration.

'Stop hitting me!' Kageyama slapped Hinata on the face and pushed him. They both stumbled away, heaving.

'It hurts,' Hinata mumbled as he lay on the floor, knees giving out.

'Did I hurt you?'

'Not here,' Hinata shook his head as he pointed to his slightly red cheek, 'It hurts here,' his hand lay over his chest, fingers grasping at his shirt.

'Did I hit you there?' Kageyama moved over to the orange head. Hinata took a while to answer.

'No.'

'So why does it hurt?'

'… I don't know,' Hinata admitted, sighing. He looked up into Kageyama's eyes. 'You know Kageyama, you were wrong when you said you were only a volleyball player. You were wrong with a lot of things you said yesterday.' Hinata slightly faltered in-between his sentence, as if the reminder of what the setter said yesterday still hurt him.

'Really,' Kageyama spat out the word sarcastically. Hinata flinched. He took a deep breath before summoning courage.

'Yes! You're my friend so of course I would be worried about you. Friends are meant to take care of each other.'

'Would it change if you had a girlfriend?' Kageyama turned away and went to sit on the bed.

'If I had a girlfriend?' Hinata asked, confused. He frowned.

 

At this point if Hinata could have put two and two together and explain the misunderstanding. But no, these are two idiots we were talking about.

 

'Don't play dumb with me,' Kageyama got back into bed and turned to face the wall. 'You have a damn girlfriend so don't get all buddy-buddy with me,'

'What?' Hinata stood up and moved closer. 'Girlfriend?'

'How long are you going to be like that,' Kageyama snapped, clenching the blanket.

'I don't have a girlfriend Kageyama!' Hinata exclaimed indignantly, leaning over and peering at Kageyama's face.

'Get away,' Kageyama's voice came out muffled as he hid under the covers. Hinata, again, tore the covers away and leaned over in Kageyama's ear.

'I do not have a girlfriend!' Hinata said firmly. The setter hissed as if his ears were burned.

'Shut up!' Kageyama sat up, flushed and dizzy. Queasiness churned in his stomach and his head pounded. 'Shut up! Stop being such a liar and just get out!'

'No!'

'Fucking hell, just go!' Kageyama screamed. He coughed, feeling the nausea wash over him. He leaned over on his hands, feeling as though his heart was being twisted. The room spun and felt like he was free falling, completely disconnected from the world.

Free-falling? Disconnected? Ah… he was alone again.

Again?

Again.

 _We won't follow you anymore._ Wait no. He didn't need that. He had a team now. Team? Karasuno. Yes they were a team. Together. What did together mean?

Watching the back of someone walk away with another?

Weren't they meant to share everything?

Their wins, losses.

Bitterness.

 

He slumped on the bed and buried his head under the pillow. He clutched the pillow against his head, letting it soak up the hot tears that began falling. The words circled his head in an endless echo.  _Pain. Pain. Pain. You don't need anyone. Just stay alone. Breaking bonds are inevitable. Solitude is forever._

'Kageyama! Are you okay?' Hinata asked, alarmed. He grabbed the setter's shoulders. Kageyama tried to feebly swipe them away. Hinata put an arm over the setter's shoulders.

'Go away.' Kageyama said, throat tightening. He gulped and breathed shakily.

'Kageyama? Are you crying?'

'No I'm not.'

'Kageyama…'

'I don't know Hinata! I don't know what's wrong!' Kageyama screamed hysterically. His body was shuddering from gasping and no doubt the voice crack gave away he really was crying.

'Kageyama…'

'So-' Kageyama broke away, hiccupping. He tried to apologise for pushing away Hinata yet again. But it didn't come out. Just like every time he had attempted to speak his feelings. He felt Hinata move away and a panic settled in his stomach. He was leaving. Kageyama heard muffled sounds of the door closing. He lifted his pillow and checked if the room was empty. He pulled the covers into his face and broke down. Crying everything out.

Guilt.

Loss.

Lies.

Anger.

Frustration.

Pain.

Bitter. So bitter and anguished.

And Hinata.

Hinata. Hinata. Hinata.


	12. Two Dumbasses

'-yama?' What was this? Kageyama groaned and turned over. He opened his eyes. 'Kageyama? Are you going to school tomorrow?'

'What time is it?'

'2 o'clock.'

'What the hell? You come in here-' Kageyama stopped, remembering what happened. 'Why are you still here?'

'Because I think you would want to talk.'

'Hinata…' Kageyama sat up and stared sleepily into the sharp brown eyes that appeared to glow in the dark.

'Kageyama, you can't keep everything on the inside all the time.'

'Hinata… I think… there's something wrong with me.' Kageyama slumped over, sleep threatening to reclaim him. He felt so hollow.

'Are you sick?'

'I don't know.'

Hinata pulled him and let his forehead touch his. Kageyama stiffened.

'What are you doing? Let go,' he said, trying to sound angry. This was way too close. Kageyama felt heat flood into his face. He was completely off guard.

'Be quiet! I'm seeing if you have a cold!' Big brown eyes stared back sternly.

'I'm not Natsu.'

'Shush! And how do you know I do this to Natsu?'

'You just seem to do stuff like this.'

'Okay, fine. I sometimes do this when Natsu says she's not feeling well,' Hinata released Kageyama. Kageyama let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting his head on Hinata's shoulder, sighing. Hinata absentmindedly patted him.

'Hinata, can you tell what's wrong with me?' Kageyama muttered, eyes heavy lidded from exhaustion.

'How do I know? I'm not a doctor!'

'Just listen.'

'Okay.' He felt Hinata's hair tickle his ear as Hinata nodded.

'Every time I'm around you…' Kageyama trailed off as his face flushed, 'I feel like… like I should be next to you.' Hinata hummed in agreement. 'Also I find your eyes really … big.'

'Big?'

'Like, like a kid.'

'Kageyama I'm not a kid!'

'Yeah I know but... it's nice I guess.'

'Hmph! I'm still not a little kid!' Kageyama smiled into Hinata's shoulder.

'There's more.'

'Okay keep going.'

'When you feel happy, I feel happy. When you smile I want to laugh too. I'll send you however many tosses you want as long as you're happy.'

'We still have to practice our new strike!'

'Yeah. Can you stop interrupting me now?'

'Okay, okay fine.'

'When you feel sad or angry I feel sick. Like I'm going to puke. My head hurts a lot and I can't see properly. I feel really bad.' Hinata made a noise of assent to continue. Kageyama tilted his head so his hair was touching Hinata's ear. 'I'm really sorry for what I said yesterday.'

'It's okay. I forgive you.'

'Really? Even after I said all that?'

'Yes. You weren't yourself yesterday but you're okay now. You're just sick.'

'No I'm not.'

'But your forehead felt hot.'

'It isn't.'

'Do you want me to check again? Because I'll-' Hinata started moving. Kageyama head butted him.

'No.'

'Then what's wrong Kageyama?'

'I want to ask an important question.'

'Okay.'

'Are you and Yachi-san dating?'

'Hm? No. Why is that question important?'

'Just because…' Kageyama considered his words. What would he tell him? That he was smouldering on the inside because she was going to get so much time with Hinata? That they would take on the world together? That he was afraid Hinata was going to not practice with him as much anymore? That he was not going to see a fluff of orange spiking his tosses and going ecstatic about it? Ack. Just go with the simplest answer. 'Because I felt jealous.'

'Jealous?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'Because you're …cute and I want to be around every time you smile and laugh…'

Hinata snickered.

'Of course I am!' Kageyama inwardly groaned, utterly embarrassed at the words he wanted to say for so long.

'Not in that way dumbass.'

'Which way then?' Kageyama huffed and straightened up off Hinata's shoulder. This was stupid. This… idiot. He looked into Hinata's face again, taking in everything. His orange hair. The wide sparkling eyes. The mouth that smiled and laughed so many times. This stubborn shrimp who would get almost anything he wanted by sheer determination and effort including winning, getting tosses from Kageyama and now… this. Bugging him to earth's end to sort out a problem even though Hinata was pushed away, hit and shoved so many times Kageyama had lost count. Hinata had always come back and Kageyama had clumsily tried to sort out his feelings and try to speak them. But it was difficult because every time the orange head came around his heart thudded faster than normal and he found it difficult to maintain eye contact. To talk in that condition was virtually impossible without stuttering. Kageyama had appreciated his efforts and not many people would be so insistent with a complicated person as himself. He excelled at driving people away and never found peoples' company something to look forward to. He had begun to look forward to volleyball with the team but he always craved Hinata's presence. Maybe this is what they described as…

'I think…' Kageyama swallowed. 'I like you.'

'I like you too! How could anyone hate me!' Hinata laughed. Despite his exhaustion, Kageyama was itching to throttle the orange head. He shook Hinata slightly by the shoulders.

'Hinata dumbass. Look at me.' Hinata looked up, still smiling faintly. He looked at Kageyama. Properly. He saw the deep sharp eyes. Kageyama wasn't angry or glaring at him, which was good. He saw the slightly drawn up eyebrows, as if the setter was tired or amused or worried. The pouted mouth. He looked back to the eyes. To think of it Kageyama had been crying right? Was he okay now… Hinata reached out and patted Kageyama's cheek, feeling if it was damp. It was still slightly sticky. He rubbed at it, swirling circles. Kageyama, Suga-san had told him, was still an awkward person and found it hard to open up to people. So if there's someone who can open him up, it could be you.

'Hinata.' He felt a hand grasp his own. He felt his hand being pulled away from Kageyama's cheek. Kageyama held Hinata's hand slightly away from his face. 'I'll show you what I mean…' He pulled Hinata forward and drew the orange head's chin forward with his free hand. Their lips brushed. Lightly. Softly. A tentative clumsy first kiss. 'When I say 'I like you',' he whispered. Hinata's mouth's formed a slight o of surprise. He stared at Kageyama, who let go of his hand and chin and was eyeing the wall. He laughed quietly, slightly breathless and gave his signature broad smile before burying himself into Kageyama's chest and hugging him tightly.

Both their faces burned red.

'I like you too,' Hinata said. Kageyama hesitantly patted him on the head. Hinata looked up, pouting.

'Hug me!' he demanded. The setter stopped with a slight shock before granting his wish, unable to keep a smile off his face.

But not before kissing the adorable dumbass on the forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually took a while writing this because i couldn't handle (and figure out) how two dense idiots confess to each other. It's kind of embarrassing and funny. (Especially the last several paragraphs). I hope you weren't too torn and cut up by the angst in this story and I hope you found the resolution nice enough to soothe your ruffled feelings. This is one of the last chapters of this story. I'm considering writing one or two more chapters to round it up completely. Thank you for reading!


	13. One Hundred

'It's my win!' Hinata sang as he and Kageyama burst through the doors, huffing.

'Are you guys okay now?' Sugawara asked, relieved at his kohais' tired but happy faces.

'Yup!' Hinata said, smiling. Kageyama grunted. Suga noticed the easy relaxed atmosphere between the two and sighed, feeling the knot of apprehension loosen in his stomach.

'Do you mind Kageyama if I borrow Hinata for a bit?'

'Not at all Suga-san.'

'It won't be long.' Hinata followed his senior slightly aside.

'How did it go Hinata?'

'He didn't even go answer the door Suga-senpai! He was sleeping. I got through the window to his room and he was really mad. We had a fight,' Suga dully noted Hinata's slightly scuffed cheek, nodding along. 'Then Kageyama said I had a girlfriend and that I should stay away from him. Then…' Hinata trailed off, glancing at Kageyama. 'He cried.' Suga blinked.

'What?'

'He put his head under his pillow and started crying.'

'What did you do?'

'I left him alone for a little bit and then came back later because I couldn't sleep.'

'Then what happened?'

'He talked.'

'What did he say?'

'He said all these things about being happy when I am and stuff like that and he said he found my eyes really big like a little kid!' Hinata pouted. Sugawara laughed.

'Go on.'

'He said he was sorry for what he said before and I forgave him.' The orange head continued. Suga nodded along. 'Then he said he found me cute! I'm not cute! I'm manly!' HInata crossed his arms. 'And then he said the obvious and said he liked me as if he hated me before!' The grey haired setter paused, eyes slightly widened.

'Then?'

'H-he uhm… he…' Hinata stuttered, turning a bright red and fiddled with his hands. Sugawara tittered. It was perfectly Hinata to not expect Kageyama to feel that way, much less do  _that_.

'Did he kiss you?' Suga grinned and amazingly just as he thought Hinata couldn't get any redder, the orange head began steaming and short circuiting.

'Y-y-es.'

'Are you dating now?'

'Maybe…'

'Yes Suga-senpai,' Kageyama materialised behind Hinata and tousled his boyfriend's hair. Hinata realised who it was and fainted.

 

'Things seem better now huh?' Daichi remarked, sighing contently as he observed the team briefly. The vice-captain hummed in agreement, casually eyeing the idiot couple who were now in another pointless argument.

'Well hopefully there won't be anymore mishaps between those two,' Suga said.

'But there will be, won't they?' Daichi said in an exasperated exhale. 'Hopefully it won't affect their training too much.'

'How can things be back to normal with them after that argument?' Tsukishima remarked, looking distastefully at the direction of the ruckus. Hinata heard him.

'Just because they are!' he countered, pausing mid-way in a scuffle with the setter.

'Wouldn't it be better to not bring up old wounds anymore?' Asahi tried to intercept.

'It's the power of love!' Tanaka sang, sniggering at the embarrassed looks on Hinata and Kageyama's faces.

'Oh, I suppose you had to run some errands for the king to satisfy his needs? What did you do? Perhaps a massage? Cleaning his bathroom?' the blonde snickered, unperturbed by the glare that was aimed at him.

'No of course not!'

'Did he punish you for doing things incorrectly? Does the king keep a whip for keeping commoners in place?'

'No! But now that you mention it…' Hinata frowned, thinking hard. 'He did hit me a lot over the past few days…' Tsukishima smiled sadistically as the orange head turned around.

'Kageyama! Let me hit you!' The setter blinked.

'What?'

'Because you've been doing it a lot recently and they had hurt a lot more!'

'Tch…' Kageyama pouted, tempted to knock the idea out of Hinata and to bash Tsukishima for bringing up that idea.

'C'moooooooon!' Hinata whined and began stepping back for a good run up.

'Oi Hinata! What are you-' Kageyama said. A grunted was forced out of him as Hinata tackled him.

'Oomph!' He had his eyes squeezed shut from the head to floor contact. The idiot was triumphantly wriggling and elbowing up his body. He felt a touch on his cheeks and flinched. He braced himself for impact and felt…

_something warm across his lips._

He opened his eyes in shock at the grinning and blushing Hinata. The middle blocker giggled.

'It's much better seeing this face than your angry one!'

'You  _dumbass_.' Kageyama sat up, using the back of his hand to cover his blush.

'Dumbass?' Hinata whined incredulously. 'It was something nice I did!'

'You can't pull attacks like that!'

'Attacks?'

'You're so going to die.' Hinata yelped in fear and scrambled off, shrieking as Kageyama closed on him and tackled him from behind.

'Gywaaah!' Kageyama snickered as Hinata sprawled. The setter pecked his boyfriend's exposed neck before letting him go.

'W-what was that for?' Hinata sputtered, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck.

'It was my turn.'

'Uwaaah! Kageyama that was so embarrassing!' Hinata hid his face in his hands. Kageyama uncovered Hinata's face, sighing.

'I'll… make it up to you.'

'Will you do anything?'

'Anything,' Kageyama promised, feeling a slight impending doom.

'Kiss me better!'

'Tch.' Kageyama's face soured and he glanced away.

'One for every bruise!' Hinata grinned wickedly.

'What?'

'There's more,' Hinata pointed at his knees.

'How do those even count?'

'Because!' Hinata pouted. 'You made them worse!' Kageyama sighed.

'How many are there?'

'One huuuuuuuuundred!' Hinata laughed.

'Dumbass! Count properly!'

'I did!' Hinata turned around and bent over, picking up a volleyball.

'You're in high school. You can count. There's no way there's one hundred there!'

'There are!' Hinata threw the volleyball at Kageyama in protest. Kageyama deflected it awkwardly with his arms, grunting in surprise.

'Get a room,' Tsukishima sighed, rolling his eyes to the roof.

'Shut up!' Kageyama sent him his signature glare.

'Are you done yet?' The oddball couple gulped. Daichi crossed his arms. Sugawara came over and flicked his cheek.

'Let them finish,' he laughed, 'It's just another scuffle.' Daichi sighed and turned away, leaving Kageyama to complete his promise.

'One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… eleven… twelve …' He continued up until…

'Thirty two…'

'Do that one again!'

'Heck no!'

'You still have another sixty eight to go!'

'So you can count?'

'Yes! So there's definitely one hundred!'

'Dumbass. There's no way there can be  _one hundred_ …'

'But you'll keep your promise right?'

'Not to a hundred!'

'How about ninety nine?'

'As if that's any better you dumbass!' Kageyama cuffed Hinata across the ear.

'Yowch! It's a hundred now because of that!' Hinata said indignantly, rubbing his ear.

'Tsk. What number was I up to?'

'Hmm…I don't know.'

'Let's start again then.'

'Okay!'

'One…'

* * *

The End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and accompanying me along my first fanfiction (although, like I pointed out in chapter 1, it was first posted on FF.net).   
> Feel free to review or inbox me or whatever because I'm looking forward to meeting you guys!


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